Updated

06/01/2015 - 3:15pm

Joey Alexander plays jazz piano like an old timer, but he's just 11. Now, he's going to headline the Newport Jazz Festival this summer. He lives in New York. But he was born far removed from New York's swinging jazz scene — on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Several thousand migrants and refugees stranded at sea in the Indian Ocean have been granted temporary shelter by the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The people have endured horrendous conditions.

Updated

07/04/2015 - 11:30am

El Niño is back. That could mean trouble for crops from Africa to Australia, drought relief for Brazil and California — and new record global temperatures as the Pacific Ocean warms up and brings the heat along with it.

Thousands of men from Myanmar and other southeast Asian countries are being used as slaves to catch fish that may end up on American dinner tables. The Associated Press uncovered the story and followed the distribution trail to the United States.

As authorities continue to search for a missing AirAsia flight bound for Singapore, fears are growing that the aircraft is "at the bottom of the sea." Meanwhile, AirAsia’s flamboyant chief executive, Tony Fernandes, has been thrust into the international spotlight as his company confronts its first major crisis.

You never know what’s going to wash up on the beaches of Cornwall, England. In recent years, among the seaweed and driftwood, mysterious 100-year-old blocks of rubber have appeared. But an amateur historian from England might have cracked the case.

Some Republicans are so incensed about President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration that they're calling it illegal. It's easy to find similar disagreement over the use of presidential powers in other political systems around the world.

Chocoholics beware: What would you do if you couldn't buy chocolate — or if the price suddenly went through the roof? We may soon find out, unless science can save the day. Meanwhile, there's no looming shortage of human waste, and Britain is using it to fuel a passenger bus. Also, the Mafia's secret initiation rite is now on video for all to see. Those stories and more in today's Global Scan.

Doubling the number of female police officers might seem like a positive step for Indonesia, but it won't be for the recruits who will have to endure a "humiliating and degrading" — and useless — virginity test to get onto the force.

Updated

07/04/2015 - 11:30am

El Niño is back. That could mean trouble for crops from Africa to Australia, drought relief for Brazil and California — and new record global temperatures as the Pacific Ocean warms up and brings the heat along with it.

At the Gunung Kemukus shrine in Java, many Indonesian Muslims come to have anonymous sex. What was once a sacred ritual — one that people believed would provide divine blessings — has now attracted prostitution and criticism.

Updated

06/01/2015 - 3:15pm

Joey Alexander plays jazz piano like an old timer, but he's just 11. Now, he's going to headline the Newport Jazz Festival this summer. He lives in New York. But he was born far removed from New York's swinging jazz scene — on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Movember, the global campaign to raise awareness about men's health issues, is trending heavily on Indonesian social media, despite the fact that Indonesia doesn't have a Movember campaign. What's up? Social media is buzzing there.

Thousands of men from Myanmar and other southeast Asian countries are being used as slaves to catch fish that may end up on American dinner tables. The Associated Press uncovered the story and followed the distribution trail to the United States.

Some Republicans are so incensed about President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration that they're calling it illegal. It's easy to find similar disagreement over the use of presidential powers in other political systems around the world.

A new study from the United Nations out last month revealed startling attitudes toward sex and sexual violence in six countries across the Asia Pacific region. In one example, the study revealed that 25 percent of the men studied in Cambodia admitted to having committed rape.

Updated

07/04/2015 - 11:30am

El Niño is back. That could mean trouble for crops from Africa to Australia, drought relief for Brazil and California — and new record global temperatures as the Pacific Ocean warms up and brings the heat along with it.

Updated

06/01/2015 - 3:15pm

Joey Alexander plays jazz piano like an old timer, but he's just 11. Now, he's going to headline the Newport Jazz Festival this summer. He lives in New York. But he was born far removed from New York's swinging jazz scene — on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Thousands of men from Myanmar and other southeast Asian countries are being used as slaves to catch fish that may end up on American dinner tables. The Associated Press uncovered the story and followed the distribution trail to the United States.

You never know what’s going to wash up on the beaches of Cornwall, England. In recent years, among the seaweed and driftwood, mysterious 100-year-old blocks of rubber have appeared. But an amateur historian from England might have cracked the case.

At the Gunung Kemukus shrine in Java, many Indonesian Muslims come to have anonymous sex. What was once a sacred ritual — one that people believed would provide divine blessings — has now attracted prostitution and criticism.

Doubling the number of female police officers might seem like a positive step for Indonesia, but it won't be for the recruits who will have to endure a "humiliating and degrading" — and useless — virginity test to get onto the force.

Several thousand migrants and refugees stranded at sea in the Indian Ocean have been granted temporary shelter by the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The people have endured horrendous conditions.

Even in relatively tolerant Indonesia, it's difficult to practice Islam if you're transgender. But an Islamic school is giving transgender women a place to pray — and gain acceptance from Indonesian society.